CHESHIRE businesses are beginning to warm up for the start of the racing season.

Research from Chester Racecourse has shown that visitors to the race meetings spend more on accommodation, food and drink and shopping away from the showground than they do at the venue itself – which is great news for the whole local visitor economy.

Hot on the heels of last week’s news that Chester Racecourse is now the fourth most popular racecourse in the UK, businesses across the city from bars and restaurants to shops and hotels are already making preparations for the May meeting – the first major event in Chester’s racing calendar.

Recent racecourse statistics reveal that the average visitor spends over £100 on accommodation, £65 on food and drink within the city and spends £70 shopping in the centre.

What’s more, over 60% of racecourse visitors come from outside Chester and Cheshire, therefore representing significant additional spend to the area.

Richard Thomas, chief executive of the Chester Race Company Ltd, added: ‘We are obviously very pleased with our performance in 2009 and will strive to improve on these figures for 2010 which has already had a really strong start for ticket sales and hospitality, we will be looking to overtake Aintree and move into second or third position.Š

“We have recently taken over the management and delivery of all none raceday corporate events at the course which will continue to support the local visitor economy throughout the year.”

Neil McDonnell, owner of Barlounge, Upstairs at the Grill and the soon to open Hickory’s Smokehouse (at The Groves), said: “May is our favourite month of the year as it launches the local race season and we are already getting geared up for it.

“TheŠracecourse attracts thousands of visitors to the city and we directly benefitŠnot just on theŠday of the meeting butŠin the days surrounding each event.

“But it’s not just the main race meetings that we benefit from; the impact a single race day has on the city centre on a quiet Wednesday daytime or on the family fun day is massive for our business.

“There is a real buzz throughout Chester every race meeting and we look forward to welcoming the wonderful and unique cross section of visitors to the city, ranging from the national racing fraternity, to families and the fashionistas.

“I personally see the Chester Racecourse as a very forward thinking local attraction who understands the importance of working in partnership with the rest of the local tourism industry.

“It was the first racecourse to launch a restaurant open all year round and had the foresight to open a private members bar which allows sporting heroes and top celebrities to enjoy privacy at what is now one of the North of England’s top attractions.”

Fashion is an integral part of the racing experience for many race-goers and Neil Parnell, General Manager of Marks & Spencer, Chester, believes the Chester Races are a vital component of the shop’s trading year.

He explains: “The lead up to the May festival sees many people buying not just new dresses for the event but new suits, shirts and shoes for men.

“Our fashion range is always at its finest just before the May festival and we are well aware of the increase in footfall and purchases that this creates.

“We are also pleased that the International Polo is becoming established and of course the new International show jumping event.

“These other events focus more attention on our city and of course increases footfall for the benefit of everyone in Chester.”

Stephen Wundke, chairman of the Restaurant Association of Chester & Cheshire, said: “Congratulations to Chester Race Company for their great performance during 2009.

“In the restaurant trade we experienced one of the toughest years in modern history as the recession hit discretionary spend hard in our industry.

“It made it even more important for our Chester based businesses that they had the bright spots of not just racing but the other events that they are now staging.

“We saw uplifts at Easter with the Food and Drink Festival and we are looking forward to the show jumping in July as I believe we can expect visitors form right across Europe for this event in 2010.”

Julie Webb, general manager at the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, said: “It is not just the weekend of the race meeting when our average footfall and customer spend increases; we see a big boost in the weeks running up to a major meeting.

“During key race meetings our average customer spends increase by up to 20%. We are already planning our communications campaigns now to attract race visitors as it is a key event within our customer shopping calendar.”

Chris Brown, Chief Executive of Visit Chester and Cheshire (VCC) concluded: “With the recent statistics revealed by the racecourse, by increasing the average attendance by 10% it generates substantial benefit not just to the racecourse but to the region’s leisure and resident community.”